HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
484 
smaller; its tail is twice the length of that which nature has given to the qat; its 
snout is long, and resembles that of a fox: the iris of the eye is a brilliant yellow ; 
its face and ears are white, but its nose is black; each eye is surrounded with a 
large circle of the same colour, and on the sides of the head and eyebrows there are 
long stiff hairs, resembling the whiskers of a cat, the crown and the hinder part of 
the head are of a dark ash colour, and the hair, in those parts, is longer than that 
of the face, but the hinder part and the sides have a slight tinge of red; the legs 
are of a light ash colour ; the upper part of the feet is white; the fore feet resemble 
the human hand, with a thumb and flat nails, while the hinder ones are remarkable 
for the size of its principal toe, and the inside of them is covered with black hair: 
the skin in every part has the softness of velvet. This animal has two teats on the 
breast, which have the same position as in the monkey species: the tail is covered 
with fur, and decorated with large alternate rings of black arid white: when it sleeps 
it rests its nose on its belly, brings all its feet together, as if it were sitting, and 
guards its head with its tail. 
The black mauaulo is of the same size as that we have just described, is of 
the same gentle nature, and soon rendered familiar, though it has all the tricks and 
finesse of a monkey. Its head is like that of a fox, with a pointed snout; it eats in 
a sitting posture, and holds its food with its paws. 
There are several species of fowl, and different kinds of game, but the inhabi¬ 
tants are so awkward in the use of nets and fowling-pieces, that they seldom kill 
any of them. 
The sea abounds in different kinds of excellent fish, and the islanders are very 
skilful in taking them; they consist of the ray, the mullet, and a flat fish that 
resembles our turbot; but the most .remarkable species is the peroquet fish, so 
named from the resemblance of its snout to the beak of that bird : it is about a 
foot long, and of a greenish colour, spotted with yellow : its fins are blue; its eyes, 
which are very lively, are of the same colour, with a yellow iris; the scales are 
large, and it has two rows of teeth, with which it contrives to open the muscles and 
oysters: its flesh is very firm, and of an excellent flavour. 
The natives of this island are, in general, tall, robust, and well made, but the 
women are inferior to the men: they have, all of them, long black hair, piercing 
eyes, and their colour is between olive and black. The poor people live in huts made 
